AMD moots SFF PC mobo standard

CES 2007 AMD is following arch-rival Intel into the PC form-factor defining game. Today, the company launched DTX, a would-be standard for quiet, low-power small form-factor systems.

DTX will take advantage of energy-efficient processors from AMD and other chip makers to provide system builders with a template for SFF PCs that consume less power and generate less noise than ATX systems, AMD said.

It pitched the power-saving element as a way of cutting production costs too - with less aggressive cooling, manufacturers will be able to incorporate cheaper cooling components. Further cost advantage will come through standardisation, AMD maintained.

Motherboard makers Asustek and MSI both gave AMD's scheme their thumbs-up. AMD said it will make the DTX specification public later this quarter, and presumably we can look forward to DTX-size mobos from those two firms in due course.

AMD's efforts mirror VIA's ongoing programme to promote its own Mini-ITX and Nano-ITX SFF PC-oriented motherboard form-factors. VIA's offerings have primarily targetted the company's own CPUs - AMD's more open approach may win DTX greater support among motherboard makers and system builders. ®